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33 posts categorized "Online Communities"

February 25, 2013

The rise of the term Native Advertising seems to be causing quite a stir. This may very well be in creating a label that's inherently in conflict with itself. The main problem is with the word "Advertising." However, the concept of "Native" is headed in the right direction in regards to addressing context for audiences, rather than the unwanted interruption of ads.

Before anyone gets cranked up, let me explain a few things. I've been thinking about this for awhile. There are all kinds of reactions to the term Native Advertising, but I find most of them to be surface. We need to look deeper to how the model could work - without deception or trickery. Or any illusory benefits will fade fast. And marketers who don't consider this will find themselves on the short end of the stick.

I haven't known exactly what I wanted to say about this, but I started thinking about it again when Scott Albro sent a Tweet to me, Joe Chernov and Jon Miller a few days ago.

That really got me thinking. The content in the BuzzFeed example is clearly marked as provided by a company, it's shading is different and it's also noted that the item is from a "featured partner." Seems pretty straightforward to me that it's brand produced.

Is this really deceptive?

We've had Advertorials for years. Although, admittedly, the value of the content was usually more promotional than helpful. We now have promoted Tweets, Facebook and LinkedIn ads and other forms of paid placement or sponsored content that's being inserted into real-time streams. [As a confession, I tend to ignore them as most aren't engaging, but appear to be more of a ploy for attention based on a false assumption.]

What about white paper syndication where the paper is promoted in a newsletter but the company sponsoring/providing the white paper isn't identified until after you've submitted information and downloaded it? I'd label this last practice as more deceptive. I see this method all the time.

Yet, no one is screaming about it.

Is it because it's email and not online? However it's done, syndication companies have made a nice living by taking fees in exchange for promoting vendor content to their audiences. Some more deceptively than others, of course.

Where's the line?

Mark Schaefer recently wrote a post, What comes after content marketing?, where he shared 4 ideas about how to become the signal rather than the noise in the content dumping ground that marketing is relentlessly contributing to.

What prompted his post was a post written by Mitch Joel where Mitch stated, "It is my belief, that content is the new advertising. It is my belief that content is media for many brands." Mark's response of "ouch" was felt by me, too.

But I see his point. Marketing crap is polluting the very channels that give us the opportunity to connect with our prospects and customers. If we screw it up, then what? I don't think returning to smoke signals is an option.

In his post, Mitch also states that channels, "...have become a pumping ground for a marketing message. Very few of them are thinking about utilitarianism marketing and even fewer are thinking about the overall experience of the products and services (or, as the news item calls it, the "design").
Marketers create messaging around campaigns. Few marketers elevate
their thinking to a macro brand play and how it engenders the overall
economic value to the business strategy."

This, I agree with. And that brings me back to my assertion that an Advertising mindset is the problem. At least in B2B and in regards to the need for content to be a value add for the audience's experience - provide "utility" as Mitch (and Jay Baer) both identify as the key to effective marketing.

Paid placement is not going away. Not while there's a business model for it. Brands need exposure and publisher's sites can provide an audience that matches a vendor's target market.

But, what's important is the kind of content marketers provide within the context the site sets for the audience. This is why it's so important to know your audience, develop an in-depth strategy with a long-term vision (not a one-off campaign) and create truly helpful and memorable content.

One of the top goals for paid placement should be to convert it into earned media. But to do that, the content you create and syndicate had better be damn good! In the audience's eyes, not your company's.

Maybe we should call it Contextual Content Placement, instead of Native Advertising. Maybe it's also up to the publishers to hold their paid placement customers to a higher standard before granting access to their audience. After all, their audiences are their key asset to monetize. Respect for them should be top of the list.

It's time to raise the bar!

Most definitely vendors need to proactively hold themselves to a higher standard. But this can be difficult when marketers haven't yet developed the skills and strategies to do so effectively. Here's your checklist:

One mention of your products or services and you're out

One mention of anything remotely resembling a sales pitch and you're disqualified

September 09, 2010

For some B2B marketers, Twitter isn't intuitive. I could come up with a list of reasons why not, but you can probably do that on your own. The thing is that many B2B companies want to establish a social media presence. They want to get their companies on the social media map so they don't miss an opportunity. The kicker is that it's not always as easy as it looks.

Through some very unscientific experience, I've discovered a few things:

Using Twitter handles in Tweets gets more Re-Tweets.We are, after all, people. People like seeing their handle in a Tweet. It will go into their mentions where they will see it. They'll include you in their Thanks Tweet or RT your Tweet with a "Thanks" - giving your Tweet more exposure. Others also identify with Twitter handles they recognize and are more likely to click the link you share or Re-Tweet.

Always attribute.I can't tell you how many Tweets I see with the title of a post and a link. That's it. And, you know what? That's lazy. If you want people to notice and respond to your Tweets, include the name of the blog, person, company or other identifying characteristic so those you Tweet about know you have and so that others are more likely to recognize why they should click.

Be Creative.Don't always use the title of a blog post or article when you Tweet. Find something interesting to say, ask a question or something else that will entice people to engage.

Add a little something personal.When you Tweet or RT, add a phrase or word that puts your spin on the Tweet. Yes, some people use all their characters requiring us to restructure their Tweets to fit in our comment, but it can be done with a bit of thought. Just keep the main idea, the link and the attribution handles. If you want to become known as a relied-upon resource, add your $0.02 to show people why they should follow you for access to great content they find useful.

Ask for Help.Putting a "Pls RT" at the end of your Tweets can help encourage people to do so. I wouldn't suggest doing this all the time, but sometimes we have something really great we want to share. Asking will encourage even lurkers to take action and help you spread the word.

Be humble when you Tweet about YOUR stuff.Do not be a sleazy, self-promotional putz. You know what I mean. The kind that posts about a "GREAT MUST READ" article, but after the click your audience sees it's your own stuff. Just put it out there to share with the best hook you've got and set it free. If it strikes a chord, people will RT your Tweet. And it's okay to RT with thanks once or twice, but don't do it every time. Do make sure to acknowledge people with a "Thanks for the RTs" Tweet or by direct message.

Use Hashtags.I forget about this one often myself, but many people have columns set up to follow hashtags (e.g. #marketing, #B2B, etc.) so you can gain a lot of additional exposure to those who may not be followers by using them. Do a bit of research and find out what tags the audience you want to attract is following. Then, make sure your Tweets are really relevant to that tag.

RT someone you don't know well.Look for new people who are Tweeting great stuff that aren't on everyone's radar. Help them get exposure and they'll repay the favor. Plus, it feels good to share a new find! And, the person you RT will feel good, too. I've met a lot of new people with great ideas by reaching out.

I think one of the things that gets confusing about Twitter is that the stream moves so fast. It can feel overwhelming and become a time suck if you let it. I was speaking with Trish Bertuzzi (@bridgegroupinc) one day and we joked that we should only Tweet while eating in order to limit our time! Of course that didn't work, but it sounded good at the time.

Instead of just grabbing things to post and moving on, take the time to put some thought into what you post - even if you post less. Remember that when we Tweet for business we've got goals to accomplish. What you choose to Tweet and how you choose to do so should be built around those goals.

Take the time to search for a Twitter handle, to create a great message and to construct it so that you leave 20 characters available for someone to easily RT. It'll pay off.

But we all need to remember that it's not just about the links. Sometimes it's about sharing a thought or idea or answering someone's question, responding to their ideas. Keep an eye out for those opportunities. They can lead to some amazing exchanges.

What would you add to my list above? Anything you disagree with?

Oh - and please follow me on Twitter @ardath421, if you're so inclined.

September 06, 2010

Many companies I work with today are enthusiastic about diving into social media. It's shiny object syndrome at its finest. The problem I find most prevalent is that companies have no realistic idea about what it takes to launch and support a social media program.

It takes a lot more than creating an account and setting up a profile with the best of intentions to participate.

Here are 5 things to consider before you choose to add social media to your marketing mix:

Prospect Preferences. Do you know where your prospects hang out online? Do they engage in social media? If so, is their involvement based on personal or professional reasons. (e.g. many people use Facebook for family and friends, keeping it separate from business)

Content. How much of it do you have? Do you have plans to continuously develop a flow of content with the variety of contexts you need to meet expectations in different social media venues? Is your company stance to gate content or make it freely available? Is all this content focused on your prospects' perspectives? Is it helpful? Do your prospects engage well with the content you already share with them? In other words, will they be receptive to more of it? If not, fix that first.

Resources. How many people do you have that can spend time working on social media efforts? What? Just you? How much free time do you have in your current schedule? Social media is not free. Take a look at #2 above and then consider how much time it actually takes to keep up with conversational threads, developing and sharing your content—-as well as that of others—contributing to conversations, answering questions, etc.

Are you a writer? If not, make sure you line up writing resources to contribute content you can use. If you think you can force people (engineers, product managers, customer service agents, executives, etc. to write blog posts, think again. It's harder to get busy people to make time to write than you'd ever imagine.) Solely interacting in social media by curating other people's content (not your own) may make you a relied-upon resource, but it won't make you a thought leader that people seek out for ideas.

Long-term Commitment. Social media is not something you start and expect to see amazing results with in 3 months or less. It's definitely the turtle that beats the hare in this race. It can take 6 months to a year to develop the following, engagement and participation that leads to directly attributed sales gains.

And, if you start, what impression will you make if you stop and your accounts become inactive? Social media requires commitment. You must be prepared to measure short-term wins and long-term goals accordingly. And those goals must be reasonable and achievable or you'll be setting yourself up for failure. Getting pushy and trying to make it happen faster can (will) backfire.

Connection Points. How can you integrate your social media efforts with your existing marketing programs? Set up a plan to develop cross-over and help your prospects find the content they're searching for regardless of where they look. Make sure you've got calls to action designed to help them migrate from one platform to another to follow your ideas and engage with your content—and your company.

How will you share what's going on in social media internally across your company so that when the subject comes up, your customer service agents, salespeople, installers, etc. know how to respond? For B2B companies, social media is not a singular effort but a plural one. If people are out of the loop and get blindsided, it can be problematic—both for your company's reputation and your own dealings with other departments within the company.

Social media can be a boon for marketers and companies. But it does require planning and commitment that's often out of reach for many marketing departments already spread thin.

The best advice I can share is to do your research and stockpile some content (or create an editorial calendar) before you begin. Incorporate it with your existing marketing programs from the start to give it legs. Choose one tool that matches your prospects' preferences and apply yourself to becoming the best at it. Measure as you go. Then add more platforms/tools as you and plan to be prepared before continuing to expand your efforts.

Consider starting with a blog. A blog is the surest way to generate the content you need to fuel sharing on other social media platforms. Plus, with the proper planning, you can incorporate blog posts into newsletters and nurturing sends right away. This said, go back and really take a hard look at the list above before you commit.

July 23, 2010

LinkedIn can be a very valuable tool for B2B professionals to meet colleagues they'd never otherwise have access to, network with those they don't see very often and engage in conversations on topics of interest. It's also one heck of a community for getting to know your prospects and customers.

LinkedIn can also expose a lack of integrity and authenticity in a heartbeat.

Here's an example of how that can happen:

Yesterday, I received an email from a colleague telling me about a woman he'd met on LinkedIn who was asking for advice on finding a job with a marketing automation vendor. Since that's not his specialty, he suggested that she contact me. She thanked him for the referral to me. I know this because my colleague forwarded me the email trail of their discussion along with his note.

An hour or so later, I received an invitation to connect on LinkedIn from the woman which I accepted.

Next, I received the exact same email that she had sent to my colleague:

Date: 7/22/2010 Subject: Thank you! Thank you so much for connecting with me virtually! I just wanted to introduce myself and see if I may be able to help you in anyway and initiate connecting further.

If I may, I am writing to you because my current employer which is a small marketing automation provider, lost its funding. As a result, I am initiating an aggressive job search campaign. I am a well-qualified sales/business development executive with a 15+ track record of surpassing sale quotas.

If you have any questions about my background or would just like to see how we may be able to help one another, please email me or dial...

No salutation. Nothing personalized. Word-for-word the same exact message as if the exchange between her and my colleague never happened. If you get this message, just click delete. I have a feeling it's being sent to more people than the two of us.

What a turn off!

Will I help this person? NO.

Am I even interested in being connected to her? NOPE.

Do I feel slimed? YEP.

The point of this rant is that building a network takes time, care and respect. LinkedIn is tied to your professional reputation, your integrity. Trust me, if this woman's name ever comes up in conversation my response won't be favorable.

You never know who people know or the side conversations that can happen beyond your visibility. It's a small world out there - getting smaller by the day. If you don't have respect for others or for yourself, it will become obvious faster than you think.

The sad part is that she could have started a relationship. She could have met some people who could introduce her to others who could help her find a new position. She could have made the experience valuable for others and for herself. But she didn't.

May 15, 2010

One of the things made noticeable through social media participation is the personality of a previously impersonal B2B brand. Whether or not the company has individuals participating on their behalf or flies under the avatar of a company logo, the audience has greater access to what makes the company tick. In other words, personality shines through.

So, what happens when your audience applies their filter to that experience?

We all have filters. Each of us makes split-second decisions about what or who we like or don't like. We determine our level of curiosity or disinterest and respond accordingly.

For example, when someone follows me on Twitter, I do the following:

Click on the link in the email to view their Twitter page.

Read their bio and look at the link they've added.

Look at the ratio of followers to following.

Scroll through the first page of their Tweets to see if anything interests me.

Then I decide if I want to follow them back. Yes, I do that every single time. It's amazing what I can learn. I bet you have your own process for determining who you follow. For me it's not about volume, but about discovering fresh voices that have something to say that interests me professionally.

One especially telling factor is if—after reading their thread of Tweets—I click through to their website and find a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde experience it's a sure sign that there's a disconnect in the company message. Therefore, unsure of what to believe, I choose not to engage further.

One thing people like is to be sure of their beliefs. If they find a bubbly, intelligent personality during a LinkedIn group discussion, but receive email messaging and content from your company that's dry as dirt, their interest in your company as a potential partner will diminish quickly.

We must remember that marketing is like a test drive of doing business with our companies. The overall experience counts.

I know social media is the new shiny object that has marketers' attention. However, if we're going to use it as a component in the B2B marketing mix, we need to think about how our participation will reflect back on the company. The story we tell our prospects and customers needs to be consistent across all channels - at the least in tone, quality and style.

Here are a few things to think about:

Listen to the types of people you want to attract and determine what type of participation you can engage in that will be relevant to them—and on which platform. (e.g., Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, blogs, YouTube, Slideshare, industry community portals, etc.)

Determine what presence your company has on social networks right now, and what's being said to whom. I've worked with a number of companies that say they have no one using social media, only to find a number of employees already participating on their own or regional offices that have taken the initiative to set up company pages on social networks. Given what you learn, what's your plan for incorporating them into your efforts?

Set goals. Do you want to build awareness, drive web traffic, get in conversations, provide customer support, build specific relationships...?

What supporting content do you have to share that will help you meet those goals? And, do you have a plan to continuously and consistently fuel your efforts?

Who else is out there that your audience is listening to? Is what they're saying complementary to your message or different? Should you steer clear or reach out?

Given your goals and what you've learned, do your other web properties support the messages you'll share with social networks? If not, what will it take to change that?

Think about what kind of personality your company has and then design
your social media program to enhance it. It's very important to consider
the big-picture view that's created when a company's instances of
online behavior become a connected whole.

I'm excited to be one of their launch bloggers along with the terrific expertise provided by Brian Carroll, Paul Dunay, Newt Barrett and Jon Miller. I love that it also includes some new perspectives such as Cece Salmon Miller (PR Meets Marketing), Jay Lipe (Smart Marketing).

There are a couple of unique features of the B2B Marketing Zone that I think you'll find useful.

Navigation: On the left you see navigation around Concepts, Tools, Types and Companies such as Forrester. This makes using the site much easier than only having a list of bloggers or a blank search field. They've recognized that it's not about us (the bloggers) as it is about getting you the information you want, faster.

Participation: Rather than being a site that only focuses on well-known bloggers, the B2B Marketing Zone is asking for input, content suggestions and blog recommendations for inclusion on the site. See this post to learn more and find out how you can join in.

Subscribe Options: Instead of just one full feed to the site, the B2B Marketing Zone offers you the option of subscribing to a "Best of" feed that "will consist of posts that are limited in number and point to the content that is the best stuff based on social signals." I like this added filter and am looking forward to seeing how it works out.

Widgets. Located at the bottom of the pages are options for widgets you can add to your own blog. There's one that enables keyword filtered content display and one for search. And, you can even specify which featured blogs you'd like to include or choose all of them.

Go take a look at the B2B Marketing Zone for yourself. I'm looking forward to seeing how the community evolves over time.

December 09, 2008

The folks over at Working Smarter have developed a consortium of expertise blogs to provide business people with access to a variety of information to help them accelerate their business success.

Paul Stannard, CEO of SmartDraw.com explains, "There are dozens of sites, in addition to our own devoted to providing
valuable business and marketing information. The problem is that most
people who can use this knowledge don't know they exist. We started the WSN as a way for a
businessperson to readily identify sites-in one location-that offer
only relevant, truly usable and proven business strategies, tips and
tactics that can help them succeed."

There are 13 charter members, and I'm excited to be included in this great group of experts. Take a look at the other charter members.

For B2B companies, it can be difficult to figure out how to give your brand some personality. To make it more human. That's because B2B tends to be more product focused, which is a tough mindset to shift.

But, shift you must -- if you want to add social to your emarketing strategy.

Something most B2B companies are familiar with is call guides and scripts for inside sales qualifying calls or marketing outreach. Every time I receive a call like that or read a client's call guide, I'm a bit taken aback.

Go get yours. Read it out loud. Can you do this without stumbling, stopping mid-sentence to gasp for breath or, ahem, laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of it?

Now that you've read it out loud, think about what you just said. Does it matter to the person you just said it to? Does it invite a response better than, "not interested" or "I'm not sure this is important to me" or "we've got this handled, thanks."

Most B2B call guides are pulled right out of product value propositions or, even worse, brochures and corporate mission statements. Basically, it doesn't work. It doesn't work because formal, stiff and jargon-filled corporate text about products doesn't exist on the same planet as conversational fodder.

This is why listening has got to be the first thing B2B companies do when they want to go social. It's not about your product's value proposition, it's about your customer's value perspective. If you don't listen first, you won't know what that is.

I read an article a while back (can't remember the source) but it said that by exposing what happens behind the scenes of your company, you humanize it. I suppose this means that instead of a building, people will see people and feel more inclined to engage.

But, that's not enough.

People are basically self-interested. They want to engage about stuff interesting and important to them. Not just with people for the sake of human interaction. So push yourself farther to figure out what their needs are, how you can be responsive and helpful within the context of the ongoing conversation. And then contribute in a conversational voice without all the corporate rhetoric.

Go get Jason's social media strategy worksheet and think about how you can expand it. For example, I'd add that across from Business Description you put Customer Description. And, across from Value Proposition for your business you add Value Perspective for your customers. Refine them until you develop strong correlations that add value for both your company AND the people you want to reach out to.

Go read Beth's post about getting a plan for social media so you can figure out your ROI. Lots of great stuff to think about that will also help you complete Jason's social media strategy worksheet.

As emarketing strategy options expand, your success will depend on your abilty to weave together all your online efforts to tell an ongoing, consistent story about the value you provide to customers. Social media deserves a role in your emarketing strategy design.

By thinking it through, you'll be able to create a sustainable conversation that builds your company's personality and pulls customer engagement.

July 24, 2008

Many of you may know that I participate on The Customer Collective - a social networking community for marketing and sales experts. I'm in terrific company with many of the top sales and marketing experts, including:

Jill Konrath

Jonathan Farrington

Colleen Francis

Paul McCord

Elana Anderson

Brian Carroll

Leslie Buterin

Greg Verdino

and so many more

BusinessWeek – in partnership with CNET, Oracle and Social Media Today — has created an online community where senior sales and marketing executives discuss/share/debate strategies for impacting the customer experience. The online community features fresh insights every day from some of the best bloggers in the world discussing how to penetrate the market and close the sale. It's a great place to find solid information from a variety of experts—all in one place. Not to mention the connections you can make and the discussions you can have.

Because of the success The Customer Collective is experiencing, they want to share these terrific insights with more people and generate more conversations. The stronger the community gets, the more impact we can all have in working together to answer today's complex marketing and sales challenges.

Book: Sales Blazers by Mark CookThe author called on top sales earners at leading organizations worldwide to
discover their secrets for sales success. The results revealed
trailblazing strategies for dramatic growth — which can be repeated by
salespeople at any level and used to lead sales and support teams in
any industry. You'll find out how to apply these strategies to your own sales efforts to achieve high-level growth on an annual basis.

Subscription: Business Week MagazineReceive a free trial offer for BusinessWeek, where 4.9 million success-minded professionals get information and inspiration they can’t find anywhere else.

Useful StuffHey, they want to leave some goodies for you to discover when you open the box.

How can you possibly pass this up? You'll find a wealth of valuable information on the site, plus you'll get some great gifts just for joining.

In case you're still not convinced, here are a couple of posts I've found really valuable recently:

Why online communities fail - and how many succeed by Francois GossieauxThe 2008 Tribalization of Business Study that was released last week
led a lot of people to conclude that online communities do not work and
that companies are spending too much money on making them happen. Well
- there is some of that and then there is a whole other side to the
story...

Fusing Relationship Marketing and Online Marketing by Elana AndersonShe talks about how the offline and online channels are converging. Elana has an interesting perspective and her post will give you a lot of things to consider as you evolve the way you market. What's interesting is that companies are trying to reinvent the wheel instead of repurposing skills they already have.

And that's just a taste of what you'll find. So take advantage of this generous offer and join the forum for sales and marketing excellence at The Customer Collective. Do it today...the offer won't last forever.

July 05, 2008

It's sad to read a headline like this one, but not unexpected. Readers bored rigid by corporate blogs, finds study. Yes, it's a real article. It's based on a research study conducted by Forrester Research.

In 2006, 36 companies were promoting corporate blogs on their public websites. In 2007, that number dropped to 19. "Of 90 enterprise-sized companies with
corporate blogs that Forrester examined, 71 percent of the content was 'light company or business topics,' with only 16 percent injecting
"moderate personal insight" and only 13 percent using personal
anecdotes."

Additionally, Forrester found that 56% of these blogs are just regurgitating corporate news or product information.

Sheesh. Do you blame your readers for being bored?

One thing I'm not quite sure I agree with is Forrester's opinion about comments. More people read than share or participate. So, if your readership is up and returning visitor ratios are good, you can figure that your blog readers are not bored stiff. They wouldn't come back if there was no value. There can be a lot of reasons why people don't comment on blogs, but as long as they're reading consistently, you're doing something right.

If your company wants to publish a corporate blog, consider these 5 tips:

Define your purpose. What's the point of the blog. Pick a theme that readers you want to attract will be interested in. Stick with it. Think of it as an expertise showcase on that topic.

Resist the urge to restate information found on your company's website. Unless you can add new information and then link to the piece that prompted you to write that blog post, please don't give readers things you're already telling them somewhere else.

Do not write in corporate speak. Write conversationally. Loosen up. A blog gives potential and existing customers a way to get to know you and your company.

Every blog post should provide insight about something important to your readers. Every single one.

Don't talk about your products - talk about what they enable. Talk about industry issues, challenges and opportunities. If your readers want product information, they'll go to that section of your website.

Blogs can be excellent forums and platforms for sharing expertise. But, they are also time intensive commitments that take a lot of thought and effort. They look easier than they are. It's the relevance thing coupled with the already overloaded work schedules on people's desks.

While you're thinking about this whole bored stiff finding, you might want to think about your websites too. If readers are bored with your corporate blog, and that blog is representative of your public website, how fast are they falling asleep while reading said website?

Just makes me wonder...

Update 7/10/08: I stumbled across this post on Alan Weiss' blog today. He takes a contrarian stance about the validity of blogs as a way for consultants to generate business. I disagree, but what's interesting is the comments and emotion that happened in response, including the attention he received from a group of pretty influential and connected bloggers.

One thing that's evident, Alan is definitely Contrarian! Personally, I think he just loves to stir the pot and watch what happens. And in fair warning - don't follow this link unless you have some time to burn. It's fascinating, in a strange sort of way. To each their own, I say.

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